The Chase
The Chase is an award-winning British game show broadcast on ITV and hosted by Bradley Walsh in which contestants play against an opponent who plays for the bank, known as "The Chaser".[1][2][3] The Chasers are Anne Hegerty, Mark Labbett, Paul Sinha, Shaun Wallace and Jenny Ryan. Labbett and Wallace have both been Chasers since series 1, while Hegerty joined in series 2, Sinha joined in series 4 and Jenny Ryan joins in series 9 A team of four contestants attempt to amass as much money as possible for a team kitty by answering quick-fire questions in a 60-second round. Each correct answer earns the contestant £1,000. The money earned will go towards the team kitty, but there is one person standing in their way: a quiz genius known as The Chaser. The Chaser's job is to catch each contestant and make sure the players are not able to put the money into the kitty which the team must collectively play for in "The Final Chase".[4] Format[edit source | editbeta] Cash-builder round[edit source | editbeta] Each player comes up one at a time and is given one minute to answer as many questions as possible with each correct answer worth £1,000. Personal Chase[edit source | editbeta] After the minute is up, the player's money is placed three steps down on a seven-step money board (eight steps in the first series). The player may remain at this step and play for the money they have won, but if they so wish, they can be placed one step lower down the board for a smaller award, or one step further up the board for a greater award, with each award's value being set by The Chaser. The lower award can occasionally be a negative amount of money. If the player elects to play for the greater reward, The Chaser is two steps behind them and the player must answer six questions correctly to reach home. If the player elects to remain where they are, The Chaser is three steps behind them and the player must answer five questions correctly to reach home. However, if the player elects to play for the smaller reward, The Chaser is four steps behind them and the player must answer four questions correctly to reach home. Once the player nominates their starting position, they must answer questions correctly in order to reach the bottom of the board (known as "getting home") and bank their money. Both the player and The Chaser are given the same multiple-choice question with three possible answers, then must secretly press one of the three buttons on their keypad to lock in their answer. When one person locks in their answer, the other is given five seconds to lock in, or else they will get locked out. If the player and/or The Chaser is correct, they move one step down the board, but if either is wrong or ran out of time, they must remain where they are. The Chaser's job is to catch up to the player and eliminate them from the game by capitalising on the mistakes the player makes before they can reach the bottom of the board. If this happens, the player is out of the game and the cash disappears, but if the player reaches home, their money is put into the team's prize pot which will be contested for in the final round. This is repeated for all four players. The players who successfully outrun The Chaser proceed to The Final Chase. If all four players are caught by The Chaser, then their prize fund is set to £4,000 (£20,000 in celebrity episodes) and the team must nominate one player to proceed to The Final Chase. The Final Chase[edit source | editbeta] In the final round, the remaining players answer as many questions as possible in two minutes to amass as many spaces as possible. To start, they are given one space per remaining member of the team. In the case of all four players being caught, then the one nominated person will receive a one step head start, as opposed to having no head start at all. To answer a question, the player must press their own buzzer and only he or she can answer it. In the event there's only one player in The Final Chase, that player is not required to press the buzzer. After the two minutes are up, The Chaser is brought in and is told how many spaces the players collected. The Chaser is given a further two minutes of quick-fire questions to attempt to catch the team. If The Chaser gets any question wrong or can't answer it, the clock is stopped and the question is thrown over to the players. If they get the answer correct, The Chaser is pushed back one step and the clock is resumed. From series three onward, if the players answer a Chaser's question correctly whilst the Chaser is on zero steps, an extra step is added to the players' total. If The Chaser succeeds in catching the team, the team loses the prize pot and leaves empty-handed, but if the team is not caught by The Chaser before the clock reaches zero, the prize pot is split equally between the remaining team players. On the celebrity episodes, if the team is caught during The Final Chase, a consolation prize of £1,000 is awarded to each of the remaining celebrities (those who succeeded in their individual chases or, if everybody was caught in their individual chases, the entire team). Chasers[edit source | editbeta] * * *Mark Labbett (2009–present)—£32,000 winner on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, runner-up on The People's Quiz, runner-up on Brain of Britain, represented Wales from 2005–2007 at the European quiz championships. Nicknamed "The Beast", "Beastie Boy" and "The Man Mountain". Ranked 81st in World Quizzing Championships 2012.[5] *Shaun Wallace (2009–present)—appeared on The Waiting Game, winner of Mastermind, finalist on Are You an Egghead?. Nicknamed "The Dark Destroyer", "The Barrister", "The Legal Eagle" and "Mr. Smooth". Ranked 286th in World Quizzing Championships 2012.[5] *Anne Hegerty (2010–present)—semi-finalist on Are You an Egghead?, holds the rank of Grand Master in the UK quiz rankings. Nicknamed "The Governess" and "Frosty Knickers". Ranked 40th in World Quizzing Championships 2012.[5] *Paul Sinha (2011–present)—ranked 20th in the National quiz rankings (as of 2 July 2011). Nicknamed "The Sinnerman", "The Smiling Assassin" and "Sarcasm in a Suit". Ranked 42nd in World Quizzing Championships 2012.[5] . Jenny Ryan (2012-present) International versions[edit source | editbeta] Germany[edit source | editbeta] Gefragt — gejagt (Asked — chased/hunted) is the German version of The Chase, presented by Alexander Bommes. Six episodes have aired on NDR channel in its first run (8 July – 12 August 2012).[19] Unlike the UK version, there was only one Chaser, the European champion Holger Waldenberger. In June 2013 a new season began with another Chaser.[citation needed] Russia[edit source | editbeta] A Russian version of The Chase, titled «Погоня» (Pursuit), began airing on 17 November 2012.[20] Alexander Gurevich, the host of Sto k odnomu (the Russian version of Family Feud) since 1995, hosts the show on Russia 1.[21] There are four Chasers, referred to as as "The Masters": Alexander Ediger, Juriy Hashimov, Olga Uspanova and Boris Burda. All four are former Jeopardy! (Svoya Igra) players,[citation needed], and Burda also appeared on Chto? Gde? Kogda? (What? Where? When?).Template:Citaiton needed. United States[edit source | editbeta] Main article: The Chase (U.S. game show) In May 2012, the U.S. TV network Fox ordered two pilots to be recorded in London for consideration in its line-up.[22][23] Walsh was the host for both pilots, while Labbett was The Chaser for one, and Jeopardy! champion Brad Rutter was The Chaser for the other.[24] In April 2013, GSN announced that they had ordered eight episodes.[25] Brooke Burns (formerly of Dog Eat Dog) was named the host, and the program began airing on 6 August 2013 at 9:00PM Eastern.[26] Although not affilated with production of the U.S. version of the show, Jaci Stephen revealed via her Twitteraccount on 9 April that Labbett would be the a Chaser on the GSN version.[27] On 1 July 2013 (prior to the show's premiere on GSN), GSN announced that a second series of eight episodes had been ordered.[28] Merchandise[edit source | editbeta] A board game of the show was released in 2012.[29] On 12 December 2012, a version for iOS was released by Barnstorm Games. The app features all four Chasers and can be played by up to four people, as in the actual show. The only difference between the app and the show is that four choices instead of three are presented for multiple choice questions in the cash-builder and The Final Chase rounds. The app is designed for both iPhones and iPads.[30] References[edit source | editbeta] #'^' Bradley Walsh :: TV :: The Chase #'^' The Chase (TV Series 2009– ) - IMDb #'^' The Chase - Be on TV - ITV #'^' ITV Media #^ [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chase_(game_show)#cite_ref-autogenerated1_5-0 a''] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chase_(game_show)#cite_ref-autogenerated1_5-1 ''b] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chase_(game_show)#cite_ref-autogenerated1_5-2 c''] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chase_(game_show)#cite_ref-autogenerated1_5-3 ''d] Results | International Quizzing Association #^ [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chase_(game_show)#cite_ref-5.1m_peak_6-0 a''] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chase_(game_show)#cite_ref-5.1m_peak_6-1 ''b] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chase_(game_show)#cite_ref-5.1m_peak_6-2 c''] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chase_(game_show)#cite_ref-5.1m_peak_6-3 ''d] Fletcher, Alex (28 January 2013). "'The Chase' gets 300 more episodes, 24 celeb specials on ITV". Digital Spy (Associated Newspapers). Retrieved 28 January 2013. #'^' Full Roster of Celebrities for ITV’s “The Chase” - Buzzer Blog #'^' Lost in TV - THE CHASE - CELEBRITY SPECIALS #'^' ITV Media #'^' Millar, Paul (9 December 2012). "'The Chase' now ITV's biggest teatime hit since Paul O'Grady". Digital Spy. #^ [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chase_(game_show)#cite_ref-barb_11-0 a''] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chase_(game_show)#cite_ref-barb_11-1 ''b] "Weekly Top 30 Programmes". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. #'^' Millar, Paul (27 September 2012). "'Pointless', 'The Chase' neck-and-neck in teatime ratings". Digital Spy (Hearst Magazines UK). #'^' Paul O'Grady's 'Dogs' show bows out with nearly 5m viewers - TV News - Digital Spy #'^' Millar, Paul. "'Pointless' overtakes 'The Chase' in teatime ratings". Digital Spy. Retrieved 10 February 2013. #'^' Millar, Paul. "BBC One's 'Pointless' extends lead over ITV's 'The Chase'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 17 February 2013. #'^' National Television Awards 2013: Longlist nominations in full - vote - TV News - Digital Spy #'^' 'Call the Midwife', 'Britain's Got Talent' up for Broadcast Awards - TV News - Digital Spy #'^' TVGuide.co.uk Awards 2013: The Results! | TVGuide Blog #'^' Gefragt - Gejagt (2): Quizshow | 15. Juli 2012, 22:45 Uhr | NDR.de - Fernsehen - TV-Programm #'^' Телеканал «Россия» / Программа телепередач на сегодня и на неделю #'^' «Погоня» (30.09-2.10) • GameShows.ru #'^' “The Chase” Being Piloted for Fox in America | BuzzerBlog #'^' Bradley Walsh to film 'The Chase' US pilot - TV News - Digital Spy #'^' ITVS takes The Chase to US with Fox gameshow pilot | News | Broadcast #'^' GSN joins The Chase | News | C21Media #'^' GSN’s “The Chase” Set to Debut Tuesday, August 6th | BuzzerBlog #'^' Twitter / welshjaci: Be afraid, America, be very #'^' GSN RENEWS QUIZ SHOW THE CHASE PRIOR TO AUGUST 6TH PREMIERE | GSN Corporate #'^' Buy The Chase Board Game at Argos.co.uk - Your Online Shop for Games and board games #'^' The Chase for iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation), iPod touch (5th generation) and iPad on the iTunes App Store External links[edit source | editbeta] *[http://www.itv.com/thechase The Chase] at itv.com. *[http://www.ukgameshows.com/ukgs/The_Chase The Chase] at UKGameshows.com. Category:The Chase versions